In order to get her audience to really feel something, film-maker Katalina Groh practices getting interactive with her viewers. Groh says that her stories get better and better, as soon she’s able to answer the question of “what are we trying to do here?” Thinking about what your audience cares about is a profound idea for educators. Actually, I found most of the ideas discussed throughout the “film-maker as storyteller” web site to be very consistent notions to those practiced in the classroom. In order for a task or a lesson to carry meaning, it has to be relevant. In order to be relevant, we have to know our students. (We need to assess a student’s background knowledge, likes, dislikes, points of view, family and prior experience.) By making it real and making it relevant, we’ll have the “emotional punchline” to reply to the - “so what?” No one can say, “so what” better than our children and youth. As the reading suggested, if we can hook them in with relevance, possibilities, and punchlines, we’ll make meaningful discoveries together. All our voices will sound together in the classroom.
Stacy, great blog. I agree with the connection of really knowing your students and making the lessons relevant to achieve those emotional punchlines. Our kids do say "so what" a lot. I've always chalked it up to a bad attitude, but now when we hear that we'll have to come up with an answer. And a compelling one at that.
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